(MENAFN- IANS) Bhopal, Oct 8 (IANS) Former Madhya Pradesh Minister and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar on Wednesday accused the state's BJP government of concealing the facts behind the Coldrif syrup tragedy, which has claimed the lives of 20 children, with several others battling for their lives in various hospitals.

The Congress leader emphasised the alarming rise in deaths, a figure which state deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla has confirmed is now 20, stating that the situation in Parasia town, Chhindwara district, where the incident occurred, is critical.

"This case seems mysterious, and it seems the government is hiding the truth. The situation is alarming as children are dying day by day," Singhar said during a press conference in Bhopal.

Singhar questioned the Mohan Yadav-led government's efforts to trace all children who may have consumed the "poisonous syrup" not only in Chhindwara, Betul, and other parts of MP, but also in neighboring states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"Congress's central leadership has decided to raise this issue strongly in all the states where children died due to the consumption of the poisonous cough syrup. Therefore, I was asked to brief the press about the crucial issue at party headquarters here," Singhar said.

Singhar addressed a joint press conference on this issue at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The Leader of Opposition blamed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla, who also holds the state health portfolio, for allowing the Tamil Nadu-based firm to sell the cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh.

"The government should at least inform whether the same cough syrup was sold in other parts of Madhya Pradesh or not. Is the government tracing children like during Covid period? Instead of taking some concrete step to stop this tragedy, the BJP government is doing a whitewash with Rs 4 lakh compensation," Singhar said.

Singhar also carried out a scathing attack on the chief minister, saying, "Mohan Yadav could not take action against Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla. Is he a weak chief minister?"

At least seven children are still admitted to five different hospitals in the neighbouring Maharashtra's Nagpur, according to Rajendra Shukla, who visited the city on Tuesday to assess the situation.

Shukla stated that the cough syrup responsible for the deaths was manufactured by a company based in Tamil Nadu.

He added that action has been taken for negligence against the company's owner, the doctor who prescribed the syrup, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials involved.

Around 600 bottles of the cough syrup were found in Chhindwara, of which 443 have already been recovered.

Shukla also mentioned that Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers have been instructed to conduct door-to-door visits to collect any remaining bottles, ensuring that none are still in use.

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